The present invention relates to a machine for removing the husks from minicorn.
When the husks are removed from ears of corn manually, the rate of production of dehusked cobs by one person is only about 2 kg/hour.
Machines are known for removing the husks from ordinary sized ears of corn, e.g., the machines described in U.S. Pat. No. 3113574 or in U.S. Pat. No. 3900036. In these machines, the husks are stripped from the ears by passing onto the upper surface of a pair of cooperating fluted or cogged husking rollers moving in the opposite direction and downwardly at their point of contact, whereby the husks are gripped and stripped from the ears and fall between the rollers. The rollers usually have a diameter of about 5 cms and rotate at a speed of about 500 rpm. While such machines may be satisfactory for ordinary sized ears of corn having a length of about 20 cms and a diameter of about 5 cms, the action of the fluted rollers rotating at such high speeds can cause damage to the less robust and smaller ears of minicorn which have a length of about 8-10 cms and a diameter of about 1.5 to 2.0 cms.